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Horace G. Smithy Lecture

About the Lecture

The Horace G. Smithy Lectureship honors Dr. Smithy, a pioneer in the early days of cardiac surgery. 

On January 30, 1948, Dr. Smithy was a young Assistant Professor of Surgery at MUSC who made medical history by successfully removing scar tissue from a heart valve of a young, incapacitated girl who had been given but a brief time to live.

The technique employed by the 34-year old Horace G. Smithy was based upon two years of exhaustive research experimentation. Dr. Smithy’s research included the design of a new instrument, known as a valvulotome, to cut scar tissue blocking heart valves of rheumatic fever victims. He subsequently operated upon six additional patients, four of whom survived.

Tragically, Dr. Smithy himself had valvular heart disease as a result of rheumatic fever during childhood, and his condition began rapidly deteriorating and Dr. Smithy died on October 28, 1948. However, from his pioneering efforts, enormous progress has been made. Today, reliable prosthetic heart valves are widely available and surgery for valvular heart disease is standardized and carries a very low risk in most individuals.

2026 Horace G. Smithy Lectureship

Invited Speaker - Patrick M. McCarthy, M.D.
Executive Director, Bluhm Cardiovascular Institute
Heller-Sacks Professor of Cardiothoracic Surgery
Professor, Surgery

Join us for this lecture on Tuesday, November, 10 from 7-8 a.m. in the Bioengineering Auditorium.

More Information

Patrick M. McCarthy, M.D., is a cardiac surgeon, executive director of the Bluhm Cardiovascular institute, the first Heller-Sacks Professor of Surgery at the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. He completed general surgery residency and a fellowship in thoracic and cardiovascular surgery at Mayo clinic and a fellowship in cardiovascular transplantation at Stanford University.

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